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Monday, April 06, 2009

For the first time, the Indonesian government will team up with a multinational company to breed and market hybrid rice. DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred was granted access by the Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) to test and commercialize its rice hybrids in Asia. The hybrid rice varieties will primarily be exported to the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and India. ICRR and Pioneer Hi-Bred signed a memorandum of agreement last Monday at the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Hasil Sembiring, director of the Indonesian Center for Rice Research, said: "It is the government's aim to increase national rice productivity through many strategies, including partnering with private institutions in research and development of hybrid rice." ICCR also plans to collaborate with Metahelix Life Science, India and Advanta International, Australia.

The agreement complements a collaboration DuPont announced last month with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to increase the rate of yield gains and to boost the quality and diversity of hybrid rice.